Coming Home
by digitalfletch
Summary: Robert and Anna are reunited after Robert's recovery from colon cancer. A sequel to my story 'Lifeline' but can be read as a stand-alone. Because I can't seem to stop writing about these two...
1. Prologue

Anna sat in her darkened apartment, waiting. It had been nearly a year since he had walked out of General Hospital, on his way to the clinical trial in Bern. Alone. A year since she had found his note on the table with a promise that he wasn't walking out of her life forever – that he would come back to her.

Patrick had repeated for her what he'd explained to Robert: once the trial was over there would be a follow-up CT scan, PET scan in six months, the bag removed after a year. So if everything had gone as anticipated then the timing was just about right.

She fingered the note, now worn around the edges from repeated handling. Having read it hundreds of times she knew the words inside by heart. 'I'll be waiting with the Mai-Thais, once I'm back to myself. Robert.'

She'd held on to that promise like a lifeline for the past twelve months. Trusting him. Resisting the incessant urge to fly to Bern and override his wishes in order to be with him. Enduring the emptiness that pervaded her life without his presence in it. _He'll come back to me._

He knew where she was. He wouldn't make her go find him – though she'd do it in a heartbeat if she must. But no, something intrinsic in her bones told her that he would find her when he was ready. When he was healthy again.

And if it would be any night, it would be tonight.

_Unless he doesn't come. Unless he didn't really mean it. No! _she scolded herself as for a helpless instant her faith wavered dangerously._ He did mean it. He does._

And so she was waiting. _Hoping. Praying._

_Please let it be tonight._

There was a sound outside. Her senses stretched to the utmost, she thought she heard the faint tread of footsteps. _Or am I imagining it?_

Again she strained to hear, but there was nothing. _False alarm. _Anna gasped back a sob. _No! I can't be wrong about this. I couldn't bear it._

A light knock sounded on the door.

_Oh please, let it be him._

Anna opened the door with trembling hands – and there he was, standing on her mat with his old duffle bag slung over one shoulder. Her eyes drank him in. He looked fit, tanned and trim, rested. He looked well. _He looks…fantastic._

"Hello, Anna." His voice resonated deeply, powerfully in the evening air. His blue eyes sparkled with the old light – that intoxicating mixture of love, mischief and delight that never failed to captivate and hold her under its enthralling spell.

Like an offering, he held out the handle of a metal object that gleamed in the moonlight. It appeared to be a large pail, into which had been placed a jumble of cocktail glasses, a bag of melting ice, and bottles of pineapple juice, brandy and rum.

It was a bucket of Mai Thais.

"Happy Anniversary, luv."

She put her hand to her mouth, laughing and crying at the same time, overcome by the sudden sure knowledge – radiating through her, bright and true – that, starting tonight, she would be spending the rest of her life with the man she loved.


	2. Chapter 1

Biting her lip, her mind having suddenly and treacherously gone blank, Anna wordlessly stood aside and let him in.

He strode past her into the small but tastefully furnished living area.

"Bit dark in here, isn't it?" he commented as his gaze swept around the room, lit only by soft moonlight streaming in from the windows.

She laughed a little, uncertainly, swiped at her tears and managed to make her feet move over to the end table next to the couch, where she clicked on a lamp.

They blinked for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the artificial light.

"Where shall I put these?" he asked, holding up the bucket of cocktail ingredients.

"Ah, the uh, kitchen," she stammered out, and waved an arm vaguely in its direction.

He nodded and disappeared through the doorway into the next room. She could hear him open the refrigerator, rummaging, the sharp clink of bottles and the rustle of the bag of ice.

_I've spent so much time steeling myself for disappointment,_ she thought as she listened in silence. _Can this really be happening?_

But the sounds reassured her, even more than the sight of him, reassured her that what she was experiencing wasn't just a massive overdose of wishful thinking. _Oh my god. He really is here._

He slipped back into the living room and stopped, watching her, the duffle bag still hanging from the strap at his shoulder. His blue eyes were bright and clear, and his posture radiated that contained and quiet strength that from their very first days together she had always associated with him.

It was almost surreal to see him standing there. Standing on her living room rug as though he had sprung from out of the ground before her. He looked at once so out of place and yet so perfectly _right_.

Without conscious input from her brain her legs carried her across the room, until she stood before him within arms reach. He continued to gaze at her without comment as she slowly, tentatively lifted one hand and touched her fingertips to his face.

He didn't melt, he didn't disappear before her eyes. His skin was warm and slightly rough, as though he hadn't shaved for a day or two. He was solid. _He's really here._

She cupped his cheek in her palm. _My Robert. Oh, god, is it over? Is it finally over?_ _Or…_ Her insides clenched. "Are you – how –" she started.

He reached up and covered her hand with his. "I'm fine. I'm good. Really, really good."

There was still a knot in her gut. _I know you're not lying to me, but sometimes you hide the truth. You haven't said the words I need to hear._ "Then you're…"

"Cancer-free?"

She forced a slight nod. _Are you? Oh please._

He grinned. "Yep. For goin' on three months now."

_Robert. Are you really healed…? Oh, you wouldn't be here if you weren't!_

A sharp tremor wracked through her body – joy, exaltation, release. She slipped her hand from his and brought it to her mouth, trying to hold back a sob of relief.

The duffle bag thumped to the floor. As his arms closed around her, gathering her into an embrace so fierce, so loving that it set her heart alight, she could only form a single coherent thought: _You've come back!_


	3. Chapter 2

She threaded the fingers of one hand through his and led him over to the couch. Drew him down next to her, so close that their knees touched. Not letting go of his hand she tenderly caressed his long, calloused fingers with her own, lightly rubbing over his knuckles and the lines in his palm as though tracing a path that led straight from his heart to her own.

"Tell me?" she asked. _Tell me how it went._

But she wasn't surprised when he shook his head. "Doesn't matter now. What's important is that I'm officially cancer free. And back to my old self. Well, with a few improvements," he added with a sly, playful grin.

_Right. Sure._ "I'll bet," she replied dryly, smirking back at him. _That'll be the day._

_You don't need to change, Robert. All the fights, all the frustration, all the years of utter loneliness…none of that matters any more. Only what we have now. Us, together. We'll make it work this time. I promise you, we'll find a way to make it work this time._

He reached an arm across her shoulders and she turned and leaned into him, craving his touch. As though reading her mind, he began to trace one thumb lovingly over the line of her jaw and down her throat. She felt all the muscles in her body begin to relax as the precious nearness of his presence began to settle around her like a down comforter on a crisp winter night.

_I can't believe how happy I am, right now. Robin will be so happy too…_

"Does Robin know?" she managed to murmur.

"Yeah. I called her on the way here."

She nodded. _Good. Robin deserves that, to be the first to know her father's here - that he's come back to us._

_Oh, you've really come back! _Anna burrowed her head into the crook of his neck, almost purring with pleasure as his fingers danced over her skin like a melody.

_How I love you, Robert Scorpio. Don't ever do that to me again. Don't take off without warning, without even giving me a chance to say goodbye._

"Robert?"

"Mmmm?"

She leaned up on one elbow to catch his eyes. "Would you do one thing for me?"

"What's that?" he asked lazily, still engrossed with the soft flesh over her collarbone.

"If you ever…if you ever walk out of my life again –"

He stilled and made as if to interrupt her but she gently placed her fingers over his lips. _Hush_._ Just listen._

"If you do, just…just tell me before you go. I know you're used to being on your own, and that the lure of being an agent never really goes away. And, and…I won't try to stop you, I swear it." _Even if it kills me._ "Just tell me, please – that's all I'm asking."

He stared at her for a long moment, his blue eyes hooded.

"There were times this past year when I did miss it," he confessed, his expression dark and serious. "The excitement, the adrenaline. Being out there catching the bad guys. But you know what I missed even more?"

_Yes. I hope so. Tell me._ "What?"

"My daughter. Seeing her get married – finally. Witnessing my granddaughter's birth." His eyes bored like lasers into hers. "You."

She feigned disbelief. "You really missed me?" she asked in a mock-shocked tone.

His eyes crinkled with merriment. "Yeah. I really did."

"Good," she proclaimed, then sighed, brushing her thumb along his cheekbone. _Oh Robert, I'm so glad. I missed you, too. More than I can say._

"And Mars Bars," he continued in a casual tone. "And red wine. Oh, and that great little Italian restaurant down by the pier –"

She slapped him lightly.

He grinned at her, oozing mischief.

Anna tried not to rise to rise to the bait, but found she couldn't help herself. He knew how to push her buttons like no other man alive. "If you're not careful, Robert," she warned, "you'll find yourself drinking your Mai Thai out in the street."

He glared at her haughtily. "That'd be a shocking waste of good brandy. Not to mention rum."

Anna shook her head in bemused wonder. _I'm crazy to love this man. To love him so much that it hurts._

She sank back down against his chest, lost in the moment, nuzzling his face until their cheeks met. His breath was soft and warm on her ear as she trailed light kisses over the corners of his mouth and down the line of his jaw.

"I'm surprised –" he stopped, then began again. "I wasn't sure you'd still be here. In Port Charles. I thought you might have gone back to Paris."

_Paris. The job. Spying. No. Not after everything that happened. Not without you. _It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him, but force of habit held her back, fear that she would give him an opening that he could use against her.

She had once told this man everything that was in her heart. Trusted him with all that she was, all that she wanted to be. If they were going to have any hope of reaching that level of intimacy again – and she was almost afraid of how much she wanted it – then she was going to have to remember how to trust him again.

_So start now,_ she told herself sternly._ Just say it._

"I couldn't. I just couldn't face it." She licked her lips, looking up squarely into his clear blue eyes. "Not without you. Not without knowing if you were going to be all right."

His sigh was weighted down with an entire world of regret. "Anna. I'm sorry –"

"Don't!" she cut him off fiercely. "Don't start that with me. No regrets, Robert, remember?"

A pause, then, "Yeah."

She brought one hand up to cup his cheek, stroking the side of his face. _His eyes are looking tired._ "You should get some rest."

"I'm fine," he said reassuringly. With a deft touch he smoothed a stray lock of hair across her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.

"You need to stay fine," she told him firmly. _I'm not going through all this again._

"Anna." There was a warning note in his voice. "I said I'm fine."

_I heard you. I just can't quite believe it. Not yet. Why can't you humor me just this once?_ But it had never been his way. He'd never been willing to make compromises for himself. For her, on the other hand… All at once it dawned on her what tack she should take. "Well, _I_ need my beauty sleep."

As she anticipated, that changed things in his eyes. "All right." He paused, gazing at her. "I can find a hotel. I don't want to –"

"No," she interrupted quietly, suddenly feeling almost shy. _It's been so long._ "I – I want you to stay."

A delighted grin creased his face. "Guess I'm lucky this is a comfy couch."

She shook her head wordlessly. _No. Not on the couch._ Once again she took his hand in hers. She stood, pulling him up with her, and tugged him gently across the living room and down the hall.


	4. Chapter 3

He entered the room a step behind her and stopped short, as though all at once becoming aware of where he was. Where they were. Not the spare bedroom, but the master bedroom. Her bedroom.

Anna dropped his hand and turned to face him. No words would reach her lips, so she tried to use her eyes to convey the fullness of what she was feeling. _I need you, Robert. Here, with me - after all these years. I need you to hold me tonight. Please._

"You knew I was coming tonight."

_No. Yes._ "I hoped."

"Our anniversary night."

"Yes."

"I wasn't sure you'd remember," he told her slowly.

She shot him a look. _Of course I would. How could I not? Despite everything that came after, it was the happiest day of my life. _"You know me better than that."

"I wasn't sure you'd want to remember," he added, showing her a rare, precious glimpse of his heart.

_There's so much I'd like to forget. But not that. Never that._ "But you did."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Yeah."

"Actually we have two anniversaries, you know," she said to lighten the mood, turning towards the bureau and slipping off her earrings. She addressed his reflection in the mirror along the wall, "Two weddings – they both count."

He grinned and dropped his duffle bag into an armchair across from the bed. "Does that mean I'm getting you two gifts each year from now on?"

_What? Two gifts – no, Robert, you've just given me the best gift I could ever have._ She spun to face him again and reached out to touch his arm. "No." Suddenly serious, "This is more than enough." _Being with you is all I'll ever need._ "Now, come to bed."

His eyes lit. He unzipped his battered bag and rummaged briefly before emerging with a clean pair of boxer shorts. Straightening, he slipped off his shoes and started to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Wash first," she admonished. _Who knows where that face has been today._

"Yes, mother," he griped back, looking for all the world like a petulant eight year old.

_That's my Robert._ "And shave," she added teasingly as she ran a finger over his day old shadow. "You look like something the cat dragged in."

A rumble came from deep in his throat, something between a purr and a growl, but he obediently turned and fished his shaving kit out of the duffle.

As he slipped into the bathroom Anna went to the bureau and began to rifle through her drawers. _Something light, _she decided,_ comfortable but not overly modest. Although I don't really have anything too racy any more. _A sudden vision of black stockings with little red hearts popped into her mind, causing her to smile at the memory. _Mmmm, I may want to rectify that, soon._

She shifted through her nightclothes, finally choosing a sleeveless blue silk nightgown and matching wrap. Then she reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out a small jewelry pouch. She weighed it in her hands, deliberating. _Should I? Or is it too early? I don't want to scare him off. But it's been so long. Far too long. And some things will never change._

_Yes, I want to do this. For myself, if not for him. Besides, most likely he won't even notice._

Anna puffed out a breath. With a quick movement she extracted the pouch's contents, tossed the empty bag back into the drawer and snapped it shut decisively.

At that moment the bathroom door opened. Robert emerged, and as he strode back into the room Anna found herself staring. The ramrod straight back, the sculpted biceps and abs – ridiculously toned for a man his age – the soft curly hairs on his chest, now growing gray like his scalp. She took him in in silence, savoring everything about him.

She suddenly found that her throat had gone dry. Tearing her eyes away from his body, she murmured, "I'll…be right back," and fled into the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 4

Ten minutes in the bathroom served to take care of her pre-bedtime ablutions and restore her equilibrium. Stepping back into the bedroom she took a deep breath and shrugged her wrap off onto the nearest chair. Then she turned to pull back the covers on the bed – only to nearly collide with a large male body. _Robert, watch it!_ "What are you doing?"

"Getting into bed." He hesitated. "Uh, you did say –"

"Yes," she reiterated firmly, wanting there to be no mistake about it. _I did._ "But this is my side."

"What do you mean, your side? I've always slept on the left side."

_What?_ "No, you haven't," she protested. "This has always been my side. You've slept over there." _Don't tell me you've forgotten. I won't believe you._ She looked down at the piece of furniture. "Besides, this is the right side."

He glared at her. "No, it isn't. This is the left side –" he pointed to the side nearest to himself – "and that's the right."

"Don't be ridiculous," she shot back. _Look, I'll explain it to you very simply._ "When you stand at the foot of the bed, the side by your left hand is the left side and the other side's the right."

"But that's not how you do it," he contradicted. "You stand at the head of the bed…well, not 'stand' exactly – but maybe kneel down, or sit, kind of, and face the foot of the bed and then that's the left – what?"

He broke off as Anna began to dissolve into silent laughter. _I can't believe we're arguing about this. We're about to sleep together for the first time in years and we're arguing over which side of the bed is which._ She stood, one hand held to her mouth, shaking helplessly at the sheer, wonderful absurdity of it all.

"Oh, Robert," she gasped out at last, "I'm so glad you're back."

A reluctant grin tugged at his lips. "You are?"

She reached forward and wrapped her arms snugly around his waist. "Oh yes."

He cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand, tilting her head up toward his and stroking his thumb along her bottom lip. Her lips parted in anticipation as his mouth brushed against hers with such infinite tenderness that it brought tears springing to her eyes.

Anna slid her hands along the broad muscles of his back, pulling him into an even tighter embrace as their lips meshed and moved together with a synchrony like the sudden recollection of a half-forgotten melody, sending a shiver down her spine. Her tongue traced the roof of his mouth as she once more savored the taste of him, drawing out the kiss for as long as she could. She drew back slowly, lingering, fingers brushing the fine hairs at the nape of his neck as she smiled with love into his clear blue eyes.

His answering smile was warm and gentle, melting over her as he took her in, as he seemed to stare down into her very soul and caress it with his soft, steady gaze. "Me too."


	6. Chapter 5

In the end it didn't matter. She got in one side, he got in the other, and they met in the middle. As they settled under the covers Robert reached out an inviting arm and Anna eagerly shifted to nestle against his side, pillowing her head on his shoulder, just above his strongly beating heart. She slid her arm across his chest, resting it loosely around his waist, needing to hold him close.

He reached up and began to toy with her hair, running the strands lightly through his fingers like a dark river cascading over a falls. His touch was as familiar to her as the feel of warm sunlight on her face, as the sound of their daughter's voice, and so achingly sweet that she quivered with delight. She found that couldn't move away from him now if her life depended on it.

And all at once the timeless connection that had always existed between them flared into life again in her heart. Suddenly it seemed as though no time had passed, that they were lying together in bed at home with teenaged Robin just down the hall. Finding endless pleasure in one another, trying to keep the noise down so they wouldn't disturb their slumbering daughter.

They wouldn't make love tonight. Not tonight. It was too much, too soon, and besides, they didn't want to rush. Not now that they had time. _All the time in the world._

She ran a hand down his chest, trailing her fingers lightly over his abdomen. Over the scars that dotted his skin – the roadmap of his perilous life, in all their deadly glory. She brushed across the long thin scar on his left side that ran nearly from rib to hip. His scar from the abdominal surgery. _How close I came to losing you again, Robert. This time for real._

He must have felt her fingertips worrying at the contours of the scar because he reached down and gathered her hand in his. His gentle fingers caressed her own in silent reassurance – then brushed against something metallic and cold, and stilled.

Anna bit the inside of her lip.

After a brief moment of hesitation she could feel his fingertips moving again, tracing the edges of the solitary band on her left hand. The ring on her third finger.

Her wedding ring.

Anna held her breath. _Did you think I would still have this, Robert? Did you imagine I could ever get rid of it, even after I thought you'd died?_

She wondered if he could guess what it meant, that she was wearing it now, tonight. What it symbolized.

Love. Honor. Devotion. Commitment.

_I promised to love you, Robert, and to cherish you _–_ and tonight I'm renewing that vow. Whatever happens from now on, I'm committing myself entirely to you. Until death do us part._

_I don't know if you're ready for this yet, or even if you really feel the same. But it's how I feel – how I always will._

Finally Robert exhaled a long sigh, a deep and contented sound. Anna relaxed. It was ok. _He does understand. Maybe not everything, but enough. And he didn't object._

She loosed the pent-up breath she'd been holding and burrowed once more into his side. She felt him smiling as he tucked her head under his chin, and then pressed a light kiss into her hair.

His left hand slid down along the exposed skin of her shoulder and forearm in a slow, languid caress, his fingertips drawing lazy circles on her arm. Her eyes closed as she reveled in the sensation, and then snapped open again at the unmistakable brush of a cold, metallic object over her skin.

Anna sat up with a sharp gasp.

She captured his hand, her fingers questing. They found what she sought, there, a solitary band on his third finger.

His wedding ring.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she turned to look down at him. "Oh, Robert."

_Oh, my love._

She brought his hand to her lips and gently, reverently, kissed the ring.

He sighed and his deep voice drifted into the darkness. "I don't even know if we're – I was officially declared dead, so I guess we're not married any more –"

"It doesn't matter," she told him swiftly, fiercely. "It doesn't matter." _Nothing matters, except that we're together._

"Anna?"

"Mmmm?" She lifted her head and raised her gaze to his face. His shadowed expression was unreadable in the dim moonlight.

His voice, when it came, was quiet and steady. "Last year…at the hospital…you said you always thought we'd get back together again."

"Yes." _Yes. I never doubted it. I couldn't bear to think of the future, otherwise._

"Is that…" A pause, weighty with implication. Then: "Is that still what you want?"

"_Yes_." One small word, but it contained her whole heart.

Eagerly she lowered herself back down against his side, and his arm came around her in a tight embrace. "We've spent too many years apart, Anna, and I've walked out of your life too many times. I don't want to leave you again."

Her breath caught. "Don't. Don't leave me."

He tilted her chin up to look deeply into her eyes. "I won't. Never again. I don't want to miss a single moment more of your life. Not one moment."

Anna felt a shiver run through her from head to foot at his promise, delivered with the fervor of a vow.

"I love you, Robert Scorpio," she said, her voice low and passionate. "I've loved you all my life. I never stopped. Not from the first moment we met. No matter what happened, no matter how long we were apart, I never stopped loving you." She paused, swallowed hard. "Even when I hated you most."

"I love you, too, Anna Devane," he replied softly but firmly. "I have since the first time I laid eyes on you in Sean's office. You were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen." He squeezed her shoulders, giving her a tender smile. "Still are. And I never stopped loving you. Even when I wanted to."

He smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I guess we're stuck with one another."

Anna laughed. "Yeah. I guess we are."

FIN


End file.
